EKATERINA BLAZHKOVA AND THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN INTERNATIONALES MUSIKINSTITUT DARMSTADT AND LENINGRAD/SAINT PETERSBURG (1990-2000)

 

JOEVAN DE MATTOS CAITANO^*

 

 

 

Summary

 

Through the efforts of the young musicologists Ekaterina Blazhkova in Leningrad, Friedrich Hommel, and Wilhelm in West Germany between 1990 and 2000, the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt and Russia exchange was strengthened. The interplay of the letters that were sent reveals that a musical constellation was created. The IMD helped Blazhkova when she authored and defended the first academic work in Russian with regard to the history of Darmstädter Ferienkursen. For other Russian composers, such as Alexander Knaifel and Alexander Alexander Radvilovich, whose attendance to Darmstadt in 1992 and 1994 opened doors for the New Sounds Festival in St. Petersburg, which attracted musicians from Central Europe, Blazhkova's involvement was also significant. This article aims to reconstruct the background of the relationship between Darmstadt and St. Petersburg after the cold war. It is based on correspondence preserved at the IMD Archiv and Stadtarchiv Darmstadt, interviews with some musicians involved in that bicultural project, and specialized literature.

 

Key Words: Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, New Music, Russian musicology, Ekaterina Blazhkova, Friedrich Hommel, Alexander Knaifel, Alexander Radvilovich, Sound Ways International Festival of New Music.

 

Introduction

 

Many publications have already approached the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music, however, ignored the interchange between Darmstadt and Russia (Hommel/Schlüter, 1987, 1989, Trudu, 1992, Stephan, 1996, Borio/Danuser, 1997, Beal, 2006, Clichy, 2009, Nonenmann, 2010, Iddon, 2013). Analysis of the role performed by Russian representatives who made relations with the International Music Institute Darmstadt (IMD), whose materials are housed in the IMD Archive, is another requirement when considering Darmstadt in the context of the Cold War and the post-Cold War (Caitano 2019, Caitano 2022, pp. 16–29). The involvement of musicologist Ekaterina Blazhkova, who in the 1990s maintained close contact with Friedrich Hommel (director of the IMD) and his assistant Wilhelm Schlüter in order to gather information for his master's thesis at the Leningrad Conservatory and to develop a project on the works of Arvo Pärt from 1977 to 1990, highlights the significance of the Darmstadt and Leningrad interactions.

 

Literature review

 

Through some texts in German, English, French, and Italian chosen from the IMD Archive, the history of the Internationale Ferienkursen für Neue Musik in Darmstadt has been presented (Hommel/Schlüter, 1987 and 1989). These materials include lectures by significant protagonists like György Ligeti and others. Antonio Trudu, an Italian musicologist, provided a thorough and chronological description of this event based on the Darmstädter Ferienkurse's programs (Trudu, 1992). A book of 72 articles giving varied viewpoints from various authors who attended Darmstadt was published during Ferienkursen's 50^th-anniversary festivities (Stephan 1996). The editors of “Im Zenit der Moderne” envisioned a monumental work in 4 volumes that also would include texts in Spanish and programming for Ferienkurse between 1946 and 1996 (Borio / Danuser, 1997). At the conclusion of World War II, the North American Allies provided both financial and political backing for Wolfgang Steinecke's creation of the Kranischteiner Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Beal, 2006, Clichy, 2009, Custodis, 2010). The concept of Ferienkurse as the Bauhaus of New Music was approached in conversation with significant texts that influenced Darmstadt's aesthetic developments (Nonenmann 2012). In a book devoted to the legacy of Boulez, Stockhausen, Nono, and Pousseur, the Darmstadt School slogan was extensively discussed (Iddon, 2013).

Although these musicological publications has historical significance, it is mostly concerned with the connections between Darmstadt and Central Europe The researchers did not include exchanges between Darmstadt and Central Europe (Bulgaria and Ukraine). With a general approach to the letter interchange established by the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt and musicians and institutions in Russia, mostly in Moscow, the incorporation of the Darmstadt and Russia connection is a new accomplishment ( Caitano, 2019, Caitano, 2022). The publication of this article, which focuses on Ekaterina Blazhkova's function as a key intermediary between Darmstadt and Leningrad (St. Petersburg beginning in 1991), will broaden the exchange that was for many years disregarded by Darmstadt's specialized musicology.

 

First stage: The flowering of cooperation

 

The initial communication Blazhkova had with the IMD suggests that she sought to get information about Arvo Pärt (1975-1990). She claimed that these resources weren't good enough in the USSR.^[1] Wilhelm Schlüter's response confirms that IMD helped Ekaterina Blazhkova by providing materials from several IMD archive areas for the preparation of her master's dissertation. A number of copies of materials pertaining to Arvo Pärt and his performances were sent to Leningrad by Schlüter. Additionally, he assisted in supplying Pärt works that had not yet been added to the IMD library.^[2]

The Leningrad Conservatoire commissioned Blazhkova to provide a thorough overview of the 1990 courses in addition to an account of the history of the International New Music Courses in Darmstadt from 1950 to 1990, including composers, works, activities, and orientations. She also requested information on the Darmstädter Ferienkursen, a brief history, and other research resources from Schlüter. The Russian musicologist also stated that she was willing to lend books from the IMD library and make herself accessible for the IMD to share with the Soviet Union.^[3]

Schlüter reported that the Arvo Pärt composition "Berlin Mass" for choir, soloist, and organ (EC 19547), which had been commissioned for the IMD collection, had been published by Universal Publishers. The Pärt compositions' scores were delivered to Leningrad. Schlüter provided the following information regarding a Norwegian text about Arvo Pärt's music that was translated into English: "Finally, there is a further paper about Arvo Pärt's music in the appendix: Saetherbakken, Stig From the Norwegian periodical Ballade 3. 90, "4 Notater under innflytelse av Arvo Pärts musikk" ("Four notes under the influence of A. P. Music. - Author (Stig Saeterbakkens)").^[4]

Wilhelm Schlüter oversaw the publication of several significant documents in Germany. From diverse authors' perspectives, Darmstadt was discussed. He provided a list of various texts, books, and journals that Blazkova would find useful. Schlüter ordered volumes 4, 13, and 19 of the Darmstädter Beiträge zur Neuen Musik (Darmstädter Contributions to New Music) series in support of Blazhkova's second research project and informed her that she might find specialized data in Wien Modern 1990. The IMD also contributed a specific statistic on Ferienkurse from 1946 to 1980, presented for internal use, as well as copies of two Darmstadt anthologies, Darmstadt in Amsterdam and Darmstadt in Milan.

The goal of all of these materials and documents was to provide Blazhkova with a better understanding of Darmstadt in terms of the historical context and significance of new music. A copy of "Darmstadt, the fortress of the avant-garde," written by Brigitte Schiffer and published in the quarterly World of Music (World of Music. 1969. Vol. XI, No. 3), was enclosed. Schlüter stated that this article's trilingual format was a major advantage.^[5]

Ekaterina Blazhkova acknowledged receiving many copies of the IMD and mentioned how important it is for her studies that she has access to all of these resources: Brigitte Schiffer, "Darmstadt, Citadel of the Avantgardeˮ, Algorithmus, Klang, Natur: Abkehr vom Materialdenken? (1984) (Algorithm, sound, nature: turning away from material thinking? ), Darmstädter Beiträge zur Neuen Musik, 1961 (Darmstadt Contributions to New Music), 1972; Andreas Huschenbett: Die Internationalen Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt - eine Beschreibung und Dokumentation von den Anfängen bis 1958 (International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt – description, and documentation from origins to 1958) ... Written coursework.^[6]

The symposium "Music Culture in the BRR today," which took place in Leningrad from May 22 to May 26, 1990, with the involvement of Russian and German musicologists, was mentioned by Blazhkova as lacking access to conference materials. She requested that Friedrich Hommel provide her with the details of his 25 May 1990 lecture on "Darmstadt - International Music Institute and nearby Ferienkursen." She expressed interest in writing a master's thesis.

 

Second stage: Ekaterina Blazhkova in the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (1990)

 

Ekaterina Blazhkova attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1990 as an IMD researcher when she was conducting fieldwork in Germany. John Cage and Yannis Xenakis, two titans of contemporary music, were at Darmstadt for this gathering as guests of honor [Gronemeyer 1990, 64; Hommel, Gronemeyer 1990, 42-45].^[7]

Ekaterina Blazhkova and Franz Jochen Herfert met in the Ferienkurse 1990 while she was enrolled in his analytical course. She issued an invitation for Herfert to attend the Festival directed by Alexander Radvilovich in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) right away. F.J. Herfert was glad to accept since he is a Russophile, and he found it to be quite intriguing and quite different from the West there in the Soviet Union. 1990 in St. Petersburg. Ms. Blazhkova presented the Leningrad Union of Composers with examples of his scientific and artistic work. Herfert was invited by Alexander Radvilovich as a guest speaker and composer at the Sound Ways festival and courses in Repino. The Leningrad composer's company was first launched by Blazhkova, and Radvilovich later supported this launch with a concert and conference directorship.^[8]

Ekaterina Blazhkova planned a concert with a contemporary music repertoire that year that included pieces by emerging Russian, Italian, and American composers. Blazhkova invited three incredibly talented musicians to the First International Festival of Young Composers in Repino-Leningrad from November 12 to November 24, 1990: M. Garuti (Italy), F. Herfert, and A. Kalogeras. She included their names in the concert's program, which was held on November 21, 1990, in the Leningrad Philharmonic Hall (USA). She wrote to Wilhelm Schlüter:  "We all recall your kindness toward us in Darmstadt. Darmstadt was significant, and our composers had productive conversations there. Our interactions go on."^[9]

The attendance of Ekaterina Blazhkova in Darmstadt also coincided with a wave of opposition against the conventional music production and realization system. The essay "Restructuring in Darmstadt," written by Roland Schmener and Friedemann Schmidt-Mehau, bemoaned the Darmstadt Ferienkursen's neglect of significant musical genres like jazz, rock, improvisation, and performance art. It argued that Darmstadt had become a hub for only "new complexity" and the maintenance of Darmstadt academism (Trudu 1990, pp. 293-301).

 

Third stage: Defence of the Master's thesis in 1991

 

Wilhelm Schlüter got in touch with Ekaterina Blazhkova in 1991 and expressed surprise and an outstanding memory of the "Darmstadt Faculty" conference in Leningrad. According to Schlüter, the concert program that was given as an attachment was analyzed at IMD, and they were eager to see photos from the occasion. Schlüter saw to it that other publications were delivered to support the Russian musicologist's research and that a copy of Friedrich Hommel's lecture from the Leningrad Symposium in 1990 was retained in the IMD archives.^[10]

In her reply, Ekaterina Blazhkova also asked for the papers' due date to be pushed back to April. The Russian musicologist argued that she needed more time to thoroughly examine the material that the IMD had previously borrowed. She based her research on two papers that were presented at a symposium in Leningrad: "Darmstadt - International Music Institute and its Summer Courses (Leningrad, 25. 05. 90)" and "Is there a Darmstadt School?" by Professor Dr. Hermann Danuser of Freiburg University.^[11]

Friedrich Hommel and the young musicologist Ekaterina Blazhkova met in Leningrad. Two research initiatives created by Ekaterina Blazhkova, required the assistance of individuals and organizations in West Germany: Darmstädter Ferienkursen and Arvo Pärt’s works from 1975 to 1990. Blazhkova worked closely with the IMD to write her master's thesis on "International Darmstadt courses on the impact of new music. Main periods, specificity of musical and communicative situation, contemporary practice" under the guidance of Professor Larissa Danko.^[12]

The dissertation, which was defended in 1991, was structured of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, and three appendices. This academic dissertation solidified its position as the first scholarly work in the Russian language. For composers, musicians, and musicologists, Ekaterina described the Darmstadt phenomenon as a unique method of disseminating new music in culture (Blazhkova 1991). She completed her master's thesis at the Leningrad Conservatoire, and the city of Darmstadt honored her engagement by awarding 1000 marks as a reward for innovative work that was created in challenging circumstances.^[13]

The IMD and Ekaterina stayed in touch until 2000 after the master's thesis was finished in 1991 in order to update information on the Arvo Pärt project. Evidence found in the Stadtarchiv Darmstadt demonstrates that ECM Records in Munich worked with the IMD and supported the Leningrad project in 1992. Other composing scores and recordings of Pärt from Germany to Leningrad were made feasible in this collaboration.^[14]

She worked with Alexander Knaifel on a WRD-sponsored project in which he presented his work to German audiences, which highlights her engagement in promoting new music created in Germany and Russia. Ekaterina sent a research proposal to Professor Martin Schmidt at the Technical University of Berlin with the intention of preparing a doctoral thesis that would examine Arvo Pärt's works between 1975 and 1990.

 

Fourth Stage: Blazhkova as the mediator between IMD and the other Russians at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1992 and 1994: The effect of Darmstadt on Russian festivals

 

In 1992, Blazhkova attended the Darmstädter Ferienkurse thanks to a grant from the city of Darmstadt. At the time, the IMD was struggling and had limited money to support participants. For the reason of Blazhkova and Hommel's ties, Alexander Kneifel and his wife Tatiana Melentieva were invited to Darmstadt. They appreciated the wonderful ambiance and excellent musicianship that promoted cross-cultural understanding. Knaifel and Melentieva met the shō player Mayumi Miyata.^[15] Knaifel had the chance to take in Tatiana Melentieva and Oleg Malov's performance of “A Silly Horse” [Fifteen Tales for Singer (Female) and Pianist (Male)] at the Ferienkurs 1992 (Gronemeyer, Oehlschlägel 1992, 142-146).^[16] Alexander Knaifel sought a musical language free of specific stylistic color and fleeting connotations in this work, as well as in his other mature works (Savenko 1994, 174-188, Savenko 2003, 88-92; Knaifel 2013).

 

 

Figure 1

Alexander Knaifel, Oleg Malov, and Tatjana Milentieva rehearsing during the Darmstädter Ferienkurse 1992.

Photographer: Sascha Müller

Signature: IMD-B3007028

IMD Archiv

 

Alexander Radvilovich visited Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1992 thanks in part to Ekaterina Blazhkova's efforts. Thanks to the many contacts, musical, and organizational concepts he has since adopted and incorporated into his creative work, as well as the Sound Ways festival, Radvilovich has had wonderful musical impressions of Darmstadt. The composer invited to St. Petersburg composers such as Klaus Heinrich Stamer, Franz Jochen Herfert, Ernst Helmut Flammer, Horatiu Radulescu, Giuseppe Giuliano, Karin Levine (Florida), James Clapperton, Ortwin Stürmer, and the Freiburg-based Recherche Streichtrio Ensemble.

Radvilovich acquired numerous scores while attending Darmstadt, and these scores were later performed in St. Petersburg. In addition, Brian Ferneyhough and director Friedrich Hommel were invited by Raddvilovich. Unfortunately, Hommel did not reply to the invitation, and Ferneyhough declined to travel to St. Petersburg at the last minute in 1994 out of concern about Western journalists covering Russian life. Journalism from Europe and North America only used negative adjectives to characterize the mood in Russia. Peter Veal declined to travel to St. Petersburg in 1996, perhaps for the same reason.^[17]

Additionally participating in the summer session in 1994, Radwilowitsch gave a lecture titled "Religious Motifs in Contemporary Russian Music." In Darmstädter Ferienkursen, he was the first Russian speaker, and his lecture was translated and published in German [Radwilowitsch 2000]. In 1994, he performed De Profundis on two pianos with pianist Bernhard Wambach. When Radwilowitsch established the festival "Sounds Ways," which celebrated the works of emerging composers, in 1989, he served as a vital conduit between Darmstadt and Leningrad.

^[1]Radvilovich and pianist Ulrich Löffler performed the last movement of the cycle “De profundis” at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1992 in a very precise but unenthusiastic performance. In a more effective performance in 1994, Radvilovich collaborated with the Russian pianist and composer Viktor Vysotsky to perform the second movement of the cycle “Miscere Mei”. When Friedrich Hommel entered the stage and shook hands with Radvilovich, he also played the piano piece “Sa(e)iten”. Radvilovich's creative work, which is occasionally incidental in the music of the time, has exact recordings and a certain amount of flexibility, but in most cases, it is the musical notation of free interpretation that compels the interpreter to create composing performances.

 

 

Figure 2

Friedrich Hommel congratulates Alexander Radvilovich  and Ulrich Löffler during the Darmstädter Ferienkurse 1992

Photographer: Sascha Müller

Signature: IMD-B3007031

IMD Archiv

 

The instrumentalists must locate their time, characters, and dynamics when recording extremely complicated musical excerpts since sometimes doing so is pretty straightforward and traditional. In this way, the interpreters become co-authors in a joint writing project. Alexander Radilovich and Brian Ferneyhough disagreed on this matter. According to Ferneyhough, the musical material should be meticulously and intricately recorded to provide the interpreter with the greatest sense of responsibility when performing his work. At Ferienkursen 1992 and 1994, both points of view currently diverge.^[18]

Meeting foreign composers in November 1990, with assistance from the Leningrad Composers' Union and the festival director, was one of the most significant outcomes of her mission to Darmstadt.  Some composers who attended Darmstadt were asked to take part in the festival in Leningrad with the support of the Union of Composers of Leningrad and Alexander Radvilovich, the Sound Ways festival's director. Eminent and beginners Leningrad composers participated in this festival together with overseas visitors. At the time, it was a very noteworthy event that sparked a lot of attention among those working in the music industry. All master classes and lectures were translated by Blazhkova and her colleague. The "Fall of Stone Circles" article was the result. The Leningrad Philharmonic hosted festival concerts [Blazhkova, Gnatenko 1991, 48–54].

With the help of Alexander Radvilovich and thanks to Blazhkova's involvement, the International Summer Course of New Music in Darmstadt was disseminated to the Association of Russian Composers and successful concerts with F.L. Herfeld and his wife were organized. Later, Alexander Kalogeras participated with the Philharmonic Orchestra at the New Music Festival "Avant-garde and Our Days."

Leningrad was renamed St. Petersburg in 1991, and the International Festival of New Music Sound Ways adopted its name and did away with the composers' age limitations. Several musical languages became apparent after the first direct interaction with international colleagues at the inaugural festival. In 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996, Radvilovich held the Festival with a large concert program as a result of this exchange from 1989. The "Darmstadt Seminar on the Neva" was the name given to these gatherings in the newspapers. Due to the Conservatoire's conservative teachers' objections, the Seminar was unable to continue in 1997. It is noteworthy that musicologists Olga Manulkina and Ekaterina Blazhkova, who later excelled in their professions, attended the first Seminar (1990). E. Blazhkova also suggested bringing in a number of international artists to the first Seminar, whose presence turned it into an intriguing musical occasion (Blazhkova and Gnatenko 1991: 48-54).

1993, Blazhkova reestablished touch with Schlüter and expressed gratitude for his efforts and friendship. The IMD made sure that she had a musically rich stay at Ferienkurs 1992, enriching her profession as a musicologist organizing events in St. Petersburg.^[19]

As part of his ongoing assistance to Blazhkova, Schlüter sent her a number of Arvo Pärt's scores, including Passio, Arbos, Song of the Silsans, Blessings, Credo, and Passio for wind and percussion, as well as Fraternities for cello and piano. This came about as a result of tight cooperation between IMD and ECM Records, with the assistance of composer Dieter de la Motte (1928–2010). Dieter De La Motte allegedly assisted Ekaterina Blazhkova with her initiatives through correspondence between the two parties between 1989 and the mid-1990s. Helga De La Motte, a German musicologist, served as the mediator, according to Blazhkova.^[20]

Ekaterina informed that Mr. Rainer Cartres Sovitz of the publisher Bärenreiter had sent Darmstadt a copy of Oswald Jonas' book "das Wesen des musikalischen Kunstwerks" (the essence of a musical work of art) in the same correspondence. He traveled to St. Petersburg in the fall as a result of a connection made at the 1992 Darmstädter Ferienkurse, which led to a partnership between that publisher and the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, which supported the exhibition and other activities. She was teaching professors, students, and other artists about the value of the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt for the presentation and popularization of new music at the time while also working as a translator and assistant professor at the Conservatory of Music. She stated that professors in St. Petersburg had advised her to carry out more research on Darmstadt Ferienkursen. She planned to develop distinct creative challenges based on the music of Lachenmann, Kagel, Rihm, and Herfert.^[21]

Alexander Knaifel helped Blazhkova connect with Darmstadt in 1993 while he was a DAAD fellow residing in Berlin. A cassette tape of the Russian-language radio program Aesthetics and Music of Alexander Knaifel was provided to IMD by Blazhkova, who stated that she was composing a manuscript about Knaifel's compositions. The musicologist hoped that someone at Rundfunk Deutschland (Broadcasting Germany) could be interested in the program. If so, she would send a German translation, the full soundtrack without text, interviews without music, and any excellent musical content on CD in digital format.^[22]

“Magnificat,” “Sieben”, “Magnificat – Antiphonen, "De Profundis," “Mein Weg has Gipfel und Wellentäeler," and "Credo “ by Arvo Pärt were sent in six new versions in 1996, and Blazhkova thanked Schlüter for sending them. With the backing of Mr. Andrei Petrov, president of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and the vice-president, she stated in the correspondence that she was looking forward to a visit from Solf Schäfer, IMD director, and potentially an interview in the fall. Compared to Darmstadt, the Russians were highly curious to learn more about the state of and tendencies in modern music.^[23] Despite his best attempts, Solf Schaefer has not created any projects with Russia while he was an IMD director from 1995 to 2008.^[24]

Theoretical explanations for Alexander Knaifel's research have been compiled throughout the years by Ekaterina Blazhkova from various authors. She contacted IMD for assistance in acquiring access to some of the publications that referenced Knaifel, such as “Komponisten der Gegenwart” [Composers of the Present], edited by H. H. Heister and W.-W. Sparrer, Textekritik Edition, Munich, 1992.^[25]Schlüter allegedly did not reply to the fax sent on January 11, 1996, according to Blazhkova.^[26]

In 2000, Blazhkova and the IMD's partnership was formally ended. She moved to Canada in 2006 along with her husband and two kids. She was chosen after an interview as a music professional who could fit in with Canadian music and educational environments. This was professional immigration. She continued to collaborate with Russian music publishers and composers at the same time. Alexander Knaifel's compositions were promoted in Canada by Ekaterina as well.^[27]

 

Discussion

 

The broad field of the reception of Russian Music in Darmstadt has only in recent years become a central topic in discussions of contemporary music, which also and especially, as Joevan Caitano (2019) wrote in his fundamental study "Intercultural perspectives in the Summer Courses in Darmstadt", is able to capture the confrontation of composers from countries outside Central Europe with very specific expectations. Among the Russian composers who were active in the Darmstadt Summer Course at various times, the interest in the exchange of ideas is remarkable. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Hans Mayer exchanged correspondence with Wolfgang Steinecke (director of the Kranichsteiner Musikinstitut Darmstadt from 1946 until 1961) which culminated in a lecture on the situation of new music in the former Soviet Union, with a focus on Russia (Kovács 1997, Caitano 2022).

At the inaugural Muzički Biennale Zagreb, which was established by the composer Milko Kelemen, guests such as Wolfgang Steinecke and Karen Khachaturian (President of the Association of Soviet Composers) met in 1961 (Kelemen 1997, Caitano 2023). The diplomatic ties between Moscow and Darmstadt were strengthened during that meeting. Later, the Kyiv avant-garde music collective's members Leonid Grabowski, Valentin Silvestrov, and Igor Blashkov were given scholarships to attend Darmstadt, but they encountered a bureaucratic roadblock. In an effort to bring the three Ukrainians, Wolfgang Steinecke made a lot of effort and got in touch with Karen Khachaturian, but he was unsuccessful in getting a travel visa (Caitano 2019).

In the early 1960s, the renowned Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter was invited to lead piano seminars at the Darmstädter Ferienkursen. In that same decade, the composer Edison Denisov also communicated in French with Ernst Thomas at the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, through the intermediary of Paul Moor and Fred Prieberg. Denisov's work “Le Soleil des Incas” was performed at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1965. In the following years, the recording of this work preserved in the IMD Archiv was disseminated to various institutions abroad by means of distance loans (Pierre-Armengaud 1993, Schlüter 2006).

In the 1970s the director of the Central Museum of Musical Culture M.I. Glinka in Moscow exchanged letters with Ernst Thomas and Wilhelm Schlüter at the IMD. Sheet music, recordings of works, and concert programs were sent by both parties in a bicultural exchange.

In the 1980s, at the end of the cold war, Darmstadt remained a platform that attracted Russian participants. In 1988, the work "In Deo speravit cor meum" by Edison Denisov was performed in Darmstadt with the participation of the organist Oleg Yantschenko. Between 1981 and 1994 Friedrich Hommel headed the IMD and implemented various projects to bring composers, instrumentalists, and lecturers from other continents, including Oleg Yantschenko who was officially invited to play concerts in Darmstadt and other cities in programs linked to the Darmstädter Ferienkurse 1988. Sofia Gubaidulina's compositions for piano and organ were played during the Ferienkurse in 1988 and 1990. In the Darmstädter Ferienkurse of 1988, Friedrich Hommel's project also included a concert with the Ensemble Madrigal and Pekarskij Ensemble from Moscow (Trudu 1992). In a letter of appreciation to the director Friedrich Hommel, Rashid Kalimullin stated that he participated in the 1992 Darmstädter Ferienkurse and found the experience to be helpful because it improved the aesthetic of his Kazan career. Rashid Kalimullin subsequently gained prominent roles among Russian composers. Oleg Malov, a pianist, performed Galina Ustwolskaja's Sonatas 2, 4, and 6 at “Piano-Forum: Russian Piano Music”, which was part of the Darmstädter Ferienkurse in 1992 (Caitano 2019, Caitano 2022).

The engagement of the musicologist Ekaterina Blazhkova in the 1990s which made possible the participation of Alexander Knaifel, Tatiana Melentieva, Oleg Malov, and Alexander Radvilovich, continued the exchange trail between Darmstadt and Russia developed by other protagonists during the cold war. In 2006 Ekaterina Blazhkova migrated with her family to Toronto, however, the Darmstadt-Russia connection continued with other composers and instrumentalists who attended Darmstadt with passives and actives. Among the Russian speakers who have contributed to the history of courses in Darmstadt in the 21st century are the composers Vladimir Tarnopolsky and Sergej Newski.

Moving past certain one-sidedness in the popular perception of Darmstadt will be necessary for the context of the envisaged interchange between Darmstadt and Russia. For instance, conversations about the musical compositions of Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, and Ukrainian composers took place in Darmstadt and provided an international connection from an ethnological standpoint. The discussion attempts to make the notion of a transnational movement between this diversity of the former Soviet Union and post-Cold War Russia conceivable by drawing on several Russian and Eastern European traditions. At these points, it will be necessary to discuss a referral to the historian Erick Hobsbawm’s insights, such as the notion that traditions and new music can coexist (Hobsbawm 1983), much of which contradicts common understandings of "progress" in music most often associated with Darmstadt.

 

Conclusion

 

A significant event in the history of the Darmstadter Ferienkurse and the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music was the engagement of Ekatherina Blazhkova, which established Leningrad in Darmstadt and Darmstadt in Leningrad in an institutional symbiosis and brought a dynamic of reciprocal exchange to both sides, facilitating cultural exchange. The history of music has been and is still being created by unnamed, outstanding individuals who have contributed significantly to the cultural enrichment of individuals and institutions. Ekaterina Blazhkova has earned the title of transnational ambassador thanks to her actions during and after the Cold War, which should establish her as a prominent figure in the field of musicology.